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Boise, Idaho.  Boise State University celebrated International Mother Language Day yesterday will a movie that was created and filmed in Idaho, but whose original language was Basque.  It is called Zuretzako, directed by Boise filmmaker Javi Zubizarreta.  The director attended the screening which was followed by a symposium on the film conducted by Joseba Gabilondo, film expert from Michigan State University.

Zuretzako, tells the story of Joaquin, a Basque immigrant that works as a sheepherder in the mountains of Idaho.  Joaquin sacrifices day after day working hard by himself, in hopes of giving his children a better future, but when his son joins him to help, the years of being separated create a gap between the two.  Together they fight the mountains, solitude and against each other.  The story is based on the life of Zubizarreta’s grandfather, portrayed by his own father and the brother. 

The screening was organized by the Basque Studies Program at BSU, BSU’s Student Programs Board and the Euskadi Delegation in the US. 

Tomorrow the Alferez Nun

The International Day of Mother Tongues activities will conclude tomorrow with a talk on Catalina de Erauso, a historic character known as the Monja Alferez (Alferez Nun), at the Basque Museum and Cultural Center.  The conference entitled, “The Lieutenant Nun, Catalina de Erauso: A Woman Who Sailed to the New World,” will be given by Eva Mendieta, professor at Indiana’s Northwest University. 

The talk hopes to analyze “a fascinating part” of Basque history.  “Who was Catalina de Erauso?” Mendieta asks.  “Swordsman, fighter, tenacious entrepreneur soldier, brave, celebrity, nun?” Anyone wanting the answer should go to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center starting at 19:00 tomorrow.  Admission is free.  The talk was organized by the Basque Museum and Cultural Center and the Basque Studies Program at BSU.